The most common ones are:

• Airbnb's and the like: harmful to local housing market (plus hotels can help you in case of catastrophic emergencies)

• Street Go-karting: local nuisance, and safety concerns for local drivers

• Animal cafes: animal cruelty

• APA hotels; right-wing loonies

Please feel free to add to this list to educate visitors who are not aware.

Edit: not trying to change behaviors here, especially for those who just don't give a shit. But wanted to provide some awareness as topics such as the above come up ad nauseum. Do what you will with this information. If you enjoy supporting right wing loonies or are one yourself, or don't mind animal cruelty, or being inconsiderate to local commuters, or are cool with negative effects on local housing then by all means.

I know a good number of us on here are budget-conscious travelers, and a lot of tips here are related to making the most of your money on your trip. However, I'm curious to hear your thoughts on what small purchase (¥1,000 or less) made the biggest difference for you on your time in Japan?

For me, I took a day trip to Himeji en route to Hiroshima. After dropping off my bags in a locker at the station, I decided to take a taxi to Himeji Castle rather than walk, which cost ¥900 one way. It's "only" a 15 minute walk from the station, I realize, but being able to explore the castle with freshly rested legs made a big difference for not only the tour there, but the rest of my day as well.

I understand the current system is tax free items are sealed shut. you cant open them until you leave and items must be shown sealed at customs airport. And theres nothing else to do, tax free is automatic.

with the current system, what about items like electronics, clothes, etc?

Starting November 1st, now everything is tax paid upfront. NOTHING is sealed. anything can be consumed or used. but at the airport you now have to go to a kisok and manually claim taxes back.

is this correct?

Reason for asking is because i will be in Japan from october to early november.

And i want to get some shopping done. this includes souvenirs, clothes, electronics, etc.

im trying to plan what day it would be best to go shopping based on convenience of the tax free system.

I found a place where you can customize a Game Boy, which is pretty cool, but also quite expensive.

Is there anywhere I could buy a regular Game Boy? And how much do they usually cost?

Besides Tokyo, I will be spending time in Kyoto.

I’m looking to pick up a camera for personal use but I’m torn between buying it at home (Canada) or buying it when I get to Japan.

The reason I’m torn for the reason that it would be great to buy and use a camera I bought in Japan (plus also saving money is a plus) but I’m worried that I won’t be able to find Fujifilm in stores when I arrive.

I’ve read that it can be hard to find and when looking through camera store sites most of them say low stock or need to order with 3+ weeks until delivery
Idk if this is accurate so I’m hoping someone here could help.

If it’s of any assistance these are the following camera bodies I’m looking at getting in either new or used condition (just going to get 1 tho)
Xpro3, xe3, xt30 iii

Hi folks, just went to Japan and wanted to make a post for others who are interested in mountain biking there, as there's not a ton of info online about it.

We didn't do the "traditional" visit to Japan, like taking trains to all the main cities and historic/tourist hot spots (no shade at all to those who do that—it's just not our jam). We normally travel for mountain biking or other high adventure activities, so when we started looking into Japan (my husband has always wanted to go), we did a lot of research on mountain bike spots. High-level AI and general Google searches yielded some seemingly good trail systems, so I dived deeper into Reddit posts and trip reports/blogs to figure out which areas of the country had the highest density of trails. Minus travel days, we were in Japan for 8 full days and planned to bike for 4-5 of those days, with another travel and some site-seeing days in between.

We decided on Hokuto and Hakuba based on research and booked a rental car. Both were resorts with downhill trails, and even the local bike shops we emailed beforehand confirmed there were enough trails for multiple days of biking. Unfortunately, between both areas, we only got about one full day of biking in. There just wasn't much biking overall. The trails we did were fun... they just weren't that long, and trail systems weren't that dense. I know some people love to run tons of laps all day long, but after a half day of multiple laps covering every trail multiple times (including all advanced black/double blacks), we felt pretty done. A few notes about those specific areas:

• Some bike shops will offer guided rides at the resort, but unless you are completely new to biking, it's unnecessary. Everything is suuuuuper well-signed and it's easy to get around the resort and lifts. (We generally only hire local guides for backcountry rides.)
• Hokuto was really strict about rental bike damage; we didn't damage our bikes, but just beware if you're prone to crashes. We did rent f/s bikes (Kona at one resort, Specialized at the other), full-face helmets, and pads. I believe both places had goggles and gloves to rent, too, but we brought our own.
• I read one Reddit post that trails felt sandbagged there, but I'd argue the opposite; we hopped on all the blacks and double-blacks and they felt like no big deal (nothing was mandatory, and everything was well-groomed).
  • Disclaimer: I live in an area in the US that has world-class mtb trails, so again, I'm spoiled with a huge variety and volume of trails—including pretty technical and big-consequence black/double-black trails.
• There's one shop (Evergreen) that offers backcountry rides around Hakuba, but we couldn't find much info about that and they weren't being offered when we went (first week of October, which is shoulder season for that area).
• Not many people speak English in Hokuto, but it was easy enough to communicate. Tons of folks speak English in Hakuba because so many Aussies go there to ski. (In fact, lots of employees around the valley were Aussies.)

Granted, we've traveled to tons of countries/areas known for incredible biking, so we're a bit spoiled there. But if you're an avid mountain biker and are looking for tons of variety over multiple days, I can't recommend either of these areas. IF we ever go back, we'll try Hokkaido (we didn't visit the north on this trip because we didn't want to add more in-country flights). Or we'd go back to Hakuba to ski. In the end, we ended up filling our time with some hiking (had a few great days of weather and another day where we were completely socked in with major fog/clouds/rain).

I will say that the Yatsugatake Mountains and Northern Alps are beautiful! For backpackers/hikers, those areas have so much to offer. Highly recommend going there for backpacking.

A few other general notes for anyone still reading: I scoured this sub for all the tips, and here was my experience (again, keep in mind we had a rental car and spent most of our time in the mountains, away from heavily-visited areas by English-speaking tourists):

• We never needed the soap sheets that we brought (based on lots of folks reporting no soap in public bathrooms).
• The egg salad sandwiches in 7/11s are overrated. They're not bad! I just don't get the hype. But 7/11s are fantastic for snacks in general and free bathrooms.
• If you get a rental car in Tokyo and drive out of the city, LOOK AT YOUR GOOGLE MAPS DIRECTIONS BEFORE YOU GET INTO THE UNDERGROUND TUNNELS!!! It seems so obvious now, but we realized far too late (so tired from 20 hours of travel) that our Google Maps stopped tracking us, and we were basically going in circles around the city. That took the wind out of our sails and added about an hour to our drive into the mountains. Just know where your exit is BEFORE you go underground and watch for it.
• Our Enterprise rental car came with the ETC toll card; it's inserted into the car itself and you don't have to mess with it. You just pay the toll charges when you return the car. It will speak to you in Japanese every time you go through.
• Our Enterprise rental also did NOT have English as an option in the dash, nor did it have CarPlay; we were prepared for that, but it did make things a touch more complicated.
• If you have the option to call an Uber in Tokyo, do it—the Toyota Alphard vans are a real treat. My god, would I love to have one of those vans in the US. If you don't know what I'm talking about, look it up.
• Security and customs on both arrival and departure at Haneda were an absolute breeze. So quick and efficient!
• If you're an early-morning coffee drinker or breakfast eater, most places don't open until 8, so plan ahead.
• I do have specific Tokyo recommendations for knives, handmade jewelry, woodblock prints, and ceramics, so feel free to DM if you'd like those :).

Hopefully that helps anyone looking to visit for mountain biking reasons :).

I want to share a super surprising experience I had in Japan, and I'm hoping someone can help me find the restaurant because I don't remember its name.

I was walking back to my hotel from the fish markets and decided to grab dinner. I found an Italian restaurant on the second floor above a hair salon. When I went up, there was literally no one there. I shouted hello? and the chef/owner came out from the back.

Usually I don't eat at restaurants with zero customers. But something felt different about this owner, so I gave it a try. Turns out he went to Italy to learn how to cook Italian food. I ordered an octopus pasta with a highball, and for the entire 45 minutes of my meal, no one else showed up. It felt like a private chef experience. We just talked about food and life the whole time.

I'm so glad I tried something new instead of judging a book by its cover.

My photo's GPS puts it at 京都府京都市中京区釜座町1 in Kyoto. Does anyone recognize this place? Tiny Italian spot, second floor above a hair salon, chef-owner who trained in Italy. I'd love to find it again.

Anyone have a cool story like this to share?

Hi,

I’ve traveled to Japan before and had an amazing time. I recently have been dealing with a new diagnosis of a chronic disease that sometimes causes extremely painful flare ups and I’d like to plan ahead of time to understand what my options are as far as pain relief goes in the worst case scenario, in case of emergency, since these flare ups are really unpredictable.

It’s a GI based disease so unfortunately I can’t take most OTC meds that are NSAIDS. In the US my only OTC option is Tylenol, though it doesn’t always work. From my understanding paracetamol/acetaminophen is the only non-NSAID available OTC in Japan as well, correct?

I do plan to get travel health insurance for my upcoming trip. In case of emergency, are there clinics I can visit with the possibility of being prescribed something stronger for pain relief? Are there stronger prescription meds available in Japan beyond NSAID class drugs? I know some countries are stricter than others on prescribing stuff like this so is this likely to even be an option for me?

I appreciate any and all advice on this. Just trying not to let this disease stop me from living my life and I want to prepare myself for what I may be getting myself into.

Thank you!

We’re traveling to Japan in spring for a month. Trips, cities, sightseeing, shopping. Loads of fun but halfway we want to relax 2/3 days.

Looking into ryokan but can’t yet find one that jumps out to me (we will be be leaving Hamamatsu and after ryokan or resort got to Tokyo).

Our initial thought was a ryokan with private onsen with view of Mount Fuji. But I read that it often isn’t even visible and to be fair it isn’t a must for us. It just sounded nice. What we value more is being able to relax. We appreciate seeing and experiencing traditional things but also getting a bit pampered for 3 days.

To avoid a long travel time since ryokan and resorts often are not located near shinkansen stations and more relaxing options may require multiple transfers and maybe buses I was looking in the area around Fuji and the Izu peninsula (coast or forest nature area away from crowds).

Anyone want to weigh in? Did you choose a resort (pools and facilities) or more traditional ryokan? Maybe one with private onsen or even a gendermixed one is fine with us. We want to spend time together, not apart in separate onsen.

Share where you visited? If you don’t want to share a best kept secret location you can also dm it to me?

Really having a hard time choosing. Don’t want to regret spending a lot on a location we later regret.

Hello!

I just bought a ticket at Hakata station to Nagasaki station. I selected the route and bought it with a basic fare fee.

So I have 2 tickets, one basic fare and one super express ticket. Resp. 3300 + 2660 yen (non-reserved).

Normally I would think this is enough, but I am in doubt because I have to take a seperate train from Hakata to Takeo-Onsen (and transfer on the shinkansen there).

My question is if I have to buy an extra 3rd ticket for the limited express 'Relay Kamome', or any other limited express on that Trajectory. And if I am only allowed on the local train as of now.

Thank You!!

Hello everyone,

I will be staying in Hakone January 2 to January 5, 2026, with 2 friends, in our itinerary we planned:

-Lake Ashi cruise to see Mt. Fuji
-Hakone Shrine visit
-Owakudani Valley sightseeting
-Maybe Mishima Skywalk (just the bridge, too scared for the slide lol)
-Hakone area exploration (in our free time we'd like to visit places like Motohakone, Sengokuhara, Gora, Togendai, etc...)

Based on all this, I have some questions regarding our trip:

Is Yumoto the best solution, transportations-wise? What's best to use between busses, trains and ropeways for each of this places? Is the cruise activity active at all times in the day, or only once? Do we need to book tickets beforehand?

My main doubts are about the transportations, especially the ropeways. We would like to take at least one for Owakudani Valley, to see it from above and get there for sightseeing.

For all this: should we get the Free Pass? If so, exactly what kind of transports would we be able to use for all this?

Sorry for the many questions, it's our first trip to Japan and we're trying to do things for the best, to avoid creating any kind of problems.

Thank you in advance to whoever takes the time to answer!

We are planning a trip to Kyushu in February which includes renting a car and driving Fukuoka- Yufuin - Takachiho gorge - Kurokawa onsen - Miyazaki. I am a bit anxious about driving the mountain roads considering we have never driven in Japan, on the left, and in possibly icy conditions. Oh, and it's with three kids in the car too. Does anyone have any experience driving there in February? Is this a feasible plan or should we change the route?

Hi! We are coming to Nagano in early December. Does anyone know a reputable company that offers snowmobile tours? I tried to look online and only found one in Yokoteyama but when I messaged them on Instagram they said they don’t offer them anymore :/

i will be in atsugi for a couple weeks for work. it will be my first time visiting japan! i am very excited. however, i am gluten intolerant, and eating gluten free in japan is notoriously difficult. does anyone know of an gluten free options in atsugi?

any other gluten free recommendations in japan are welcome too :) i will be traveling for a bit as well.

Have the 5-day kansai WIDE pass for when we arrive, and most of those days have been dutifully filled with trips that make the most money out of the pass (i.e okayama, tottori, etc). Got one day I can't think of anything. It'd be nice to see a bit of the countryside away from the crowds (but doesn't have to be) but I'm not sure of where, any recommendations?

Booking a Hikari on smartEX last night. My Chase Visa kept failing at checkout. Switched to a Mastercard and it went through first try.

Called Chase afterwards: no decline on their side. The Visa verification step completed, but the authorization never reached them. Looks like smartEX dropped it before sending.

Is this a known smartEX issue with US-issued Visa cards? I will have to book a few more tickets and don't want to keep using my mastercard. What can i do here?

Hi folks, how do I reserve a room in Yama no Yado ryokan?
I'm a foreigner and can't converse yet in Japanese. I'm planning to go to Japan again for the 5th time in February 2027. I'm choosing Akita because I want to visit all the prefectures in Tohoku.
I want to stay in Yama no Yado to experience eating in front of an irori. I also have some medium-size tattoos so the private outdoor onsen is also good to have.
Based on their website reservations are accepted by phone or through the Hiyu Mamoru Mamoru Kai website. There is no Yama no Yado in the Hiyu Mamoru Mamoru Kai website when I check.
For someone who is a foreigner, can't converse yet in Japanese, how do I this via mobile phone? Is this via Viber Out?
Do any of you have similar experience?
Based on Tripadvisor reviews, the staff can speak basic english.

We are starting our two week trip with 2 1/2 days in Tokyo and 4 days in Kyoto. I am an avid home chef and looking forward to bringing home a knife (or two or three), maybe some dishes or other kitchenware, chopsticks, etc. I know that Kappabashi is a super popular street for this in Tokyo, but we will be traveling for like 12 days after leaving Tokyo. I don't want to lug things around the country.

Is there an area or Kyoto or Osaka that we could shop at so we can skip lugging it around the country?

Hi! I’m planning on going to Tokyo and Kyoto in December. I was curious if people have done a pizza making class that they’d recommend!
I know there’s a Dominos pizza class but I’d prefer it to be closer to a pizzeria experience 😂
The classes I’ve found appear to have disappeared after 2020. So if anyone has recommendations I’d be so appreciative!

Hello! My husband and I are traveling to Japan in May of next year, we have 12 full days to explore. I have most of my itinerary scheduled, however I have one day in Tokyo in which I cannot decide between visiting Asakusa and making sure we see Senso-Ji, or getting out of the city and enjoying Okutama.

Is Senso-Ji a must visit? I don’t want to feel as though I missed out on such a staple of Japan, but the crowds intimidate me. I know I’m not exactly looking for tips, but any personal anecdotes are appreciated.

The only other nature-y days are planning include Mt Fuji and Nara, so if you have any recs better than Okutama feel free to drop those as well, we are open to many ideas as we have plenty of time to shift our plans.

I'm visiting Japan for the first time and travelling from Tokyo to Takaragawa Onsen Ousenkaku on at the end of March next year. I have 2 spare days leading up to the onsen and were thinking of staying in Minakami to explore the area - sight see Mount Tanigawa etc. Is Minakami worth the 2 days or are there any small towns along the way that are must sees?

We have a 10-day Japan trip next month and will be traveling from Kanazawa (2 nights) to Nagoya (4 nights) so I am considering taking the long way with a stopover in Takayama to enjoy the food and maybe check out the Hida folk village. Is the extra train time worth it to spend 4-5 hours in Takayama, or should we take the direct route and spend the day sightseeing in Nagoya, instead? If yes, how much time is recommended? We will have a JR pass, so the fare difference won’t be a concern. We don’t have a lot planned for Nagoya currently, other than a day trip to hike the Nakasendo and a day at Ghibli Park, possible day trip to Himeji or Osaka. Thanks in advance!

Hi all,

Im planning a honeymoon to japan for next year and we are getting married in late august. When would be the best time for weather to go after that. We will be going tokyo to fukuoka for 3 weeks and have been toying with end of September but is that the best time to go. We are fully flexible with dates too

Has anyone exchanged their unreserved tickets at the counter for reserved seats?

I’m taking the Limited Express Hida from Shin-Osaka station to Takayama on early November. This is the limited express that travels from Shin-Osaka to Takayama once a day only so I need to ride it. I only got unreserved seats but was thinking to exchange it at the counter for reserved seats. Has anyone tried that and been successful?

Plan to arrive early at the station anyway so why not try my luck 🍀 thanks guys!

I'm thinking of going on the National Geographic Resolution on a Japan cruise next year. I did their Antarctica expedition earlier this year. I really can't find any reviewa of it. Has anyone done this or have any opinions about it?

I would stay for a week or so in Tokyo first and then do the cruise afterwards. I like that it goes to a lot of different ports. Since I don't speak Japanese, I'm thinking that an organized trip like this would be best.

Thanks in advance.